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In this paper we argue that invalid weighting instructions are recommended in three international gender-neutral job evaluation tools, which are used for correcting for possible gender-biased wage setting at work places. One of the tools is recommended by ILO.

In these tools the evaluation and the ranking of the jobs at a workplace will be based on an overall assessment of various job-related requirements as skills, responsibility, effort and working condition. The overall assessment will be represented by weighted sum of scales. An essential assumption made in these tools is that the weights assigned to the scales can represent the relative importance of the job-related requirements.

However, we claim that the weights cannot in a meaningful way say anything about the relative importance of these job-related requirements. We support our claim by a formal reconstruction of a job evaluation tool based on so called Multi-Criteria Decision Making. The implication of the reconstruction is that the weights will play a key role in the basic pay setting of the jobs.

We further argue that, due to this mistaken interpretation of the weights in the instructions, the user of these tools will likely not realize the close link between the weighting of the job-related requirements and the basic pay setting of the jobs. We therefore conclude that an application of these invalid weighting instruction might hamper the purpose of gender-neutral job evaluation of achieving a rational and genderneutral pay setting at workplaces.

The paper ends with a recommendation that valid weighting instructions should be developed by means of Multi-Criteria Decision Making.

A framework for a decision analysis method that is based on the principle of maximization of the expected utility regarding alternatives of age assessment for unaccompanied asylum seekers is here presented. Using the framework, different methods (dental, knee joint, hand wrist and the method used by The National Board of Forensic Medicine (RMV) that combines the methods for dental och knee joint) for medical age assessment are compared. These methods are further compared with three benchmark alternatives, (i) to trust the age given by the unaccompanied asylum seeker which results that all are considered to be children, (ii) to consider all the unaccompanied asylum seekers as adults and (iii) the absurd alternative to flip a coin to decide who is a child or an adult.

For the decision analysis, assumptions and/or estimates for the age distribution of the unaccompanied refugees are needed and estimates for the different methods regarding how probably it is to be considered an adult given the actual age. The outcome of a child that is incorrectly classified is assumed to give the lowest utility and a correct classification (both children and adult) is assumed to give the highest utility. The utility of the outcome of an adult that is incorrectly classified as a child needs to be quantified.

The age distribution of unaccompanied refugee, considered for age assessment is here assumed to be a combination of two continuous uniform distributions, with the interval 15-18 years (child) and 18-21 years (adult). Two utility models are examined, a discrete model that only consider if the individual is a child or an adult and a continuously linear utility model that consider the age difference from 18 years given an incorrect classification.

The analyzes carried out demonstrates how the framework can be used in practice. Given the assumptions that are made the conclusion is that the alternative that gives the highest expected utility depends on the prevalence (proportion of adults) together with the valuation of the utility for an incorrect classified adult. Regardless of the valuation, when the prevalence is close to 0 all should be considered to be children, when the prevalence increases should be replaced with a method that largely classifies children correct when the prevalence is further increased should be replaced with a method that largely classifies adults correct and finally, when the prevalence is close to 1 all should be considered as adults.

University of Gävle, Faculty of Engineering and Sustainable Development, Department of Industrial Development, IT and Land Management, Decision, Risk and Policy Analysis. Department of Computer and Systems Sciences, Stockholm University.

An approach to normative systems in the context of multiagent systems (MAS) modeled as transition systems, in which actions are associated with transitions between different system states, is presented. The approach is based on relating the permission or prohibition of actions to the permission or prohibition of different types of state transitions with respect to some condition d on a number of agents x(1), ... , x(nu) in a state. It introduces the notion of a norm-regulated transition system situation, which is intended to represent a single step in the run of a (norm-regulated) transition system. The normative framework uses an algebraic representation of conditional norms and is based on a systematic exploration of the possible types of state transitions with respect to d(x(1), ... , x(nu)). A general-level Java/Prolog framework for norm-regulated transition system situations has been developed, and this implementation together with a simple example system is presented and discussed.

University of Gävle, Faculty of Engineering and Sustainable Development, Department of Industrial Development, IT and Land Management, Decision, Risk and Policy Analysis. Department of Computer and Systems Sciences, University of Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden.

The Kanger-Lindahl theory of normative positions has great potential of serving as a logical foundation for normative systems for MAS, and its generality allows for great freedom when interpreting the theory. As a first step towards a typology of interpretations of the theory, we study the application of normative positions in the context of a class of transition systems in which transitions are deterministic and associated with a single agent performing an act. By an interpretation of different types of normative positions in terms of permitting or prohibiting different state transition types in this context, lexicons for two different systems of types of normative positions are suggested and discussed. It is demonstrated that both interpretations areuseful foundations for normative systems semantics in a MAS context.

University of Gävle, Faculty of Engineering and Sustainable Development, Department of Industrial Development, IT and Land Management, Decision, Risk and Policy Analysis. Department of Computer and Systems Sciences, University of Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden.

In recent years, the study of norm-regulated multiagent systems (MAS) has attracted a lot of attention. The Kanger-Lindahl theory of normative positions has great potential of serving as the logical foundation for normative systems for MAS, but its generality, which allows for great freedom when interpreting the theory, may also become a challenge for practical applications. As an important step towards a typology of interpretations of the theory, we study the application of normative positions in the context of a basic class of transition systems in which transitions are deterministic and associated with a single agent performing an act. By an interpretation of the types of normative positions in terms of permitting or prohibiting different types (with respect to some condition on a numberof agents) of state transitions in this context, lexicons for two different systems of types of normative positions are suggested and discussed. It is demonstrated that both interpretations are natural and useful, depending on how the notion of agency is understood and whether a ‘system norms’ or an ‘agent-specific norms’ perspective is taken.

Many multi-agent systems (MAS) and other kinds of dynamic systems may be modeled as transition systems, in which actions are associated with transitions between different system states. This paper presents an approach to normative systems in this context, in which the permission or prohibition of actions is related to the permission or prohibition of different types of state transitions with respect to some condition d on a number of agents x1, ... , xn in a state. It introduces the notion of a norm-regulated transition system situation, which is intended to represent a single step in the run of a (norm-regulated) transition system. The normative framework uses an algebraic representation of conditional norms and is based on a systematic exploration of the possible types of state transitions with respect to d(x1, ... , xn). A general-level Java/Prolog framework for norm-regulated transition system situations is currently being developed.

An architecture for norm-regulated multi-agent systems based on an algebraic approach to normative systems is instrumentalized and further developed. The core of the instrumentalization is a Prolog module, which together with a Java library can be used for creating client/server-based runtime systems. Norms are represented as conditional sentences, whose normative consequences are formulated by applying normative operators to descriptive conditions. From such general normative conditions follow normative sentences regarding specific states of affairs. These in turn result in permission or prohibition of individual actions in specific situations. Furthermore, an approach to turning runtime systems into instruments for problem-solving by using evolutionary mechanisms for evolving normative systems, is presented. The construction of norm-creating operators on conditions, which forms the basis for the representation of normative systems, is approached from two angles. (i) A logical analysis based on the Kanger-Lindahl theory of normative positions is conducted. This results in two extended sets of types of normative positions, and based on an algebraic version of one of these extended systems, a set of operators for creating agent-specific norms is constructed. (ii) An alternative analysis, which takes as its starting point a systematic exploration of types of state transitions, yields a set of norm-creating operators based on prohibition of transition types. It is furthermore argued that in the context of a class of transition systems, in which transitions are deterministic and associated with a single agent performing an act, operators based on (ii) specify a meaningful semantics of operators based on (i). Theoretical results together with shared code and example applications contribute to make possible theoretically sound, transparently described, and efficiently implemented norm-regulated autonomous agent systems.

10. Offline Evolution of Normative Systems

Hjelmblom, Magnus

University of Gävle, Faculty of Engineering and Sustainable Development, Department of Industrial Development, IT and Land Management, Decision, Risk and Policy Analysis. Department of Computer and Systems Sciences, Stockholm University, Sweden.

An approach to the pre-runtime design of normative systems for problem-solving multi-agent systems (MAS) is suggested. A key element of this approach is to employ evolutionary mechanisms to evolve efficient normative systems. To illustrate, a genetic algoritm is used in the process of designing a normative system for an example MAS based on the DALMAS architecture for norm-regulated MAS. It is demonstrated that an evolutionary algorithm may be a useful tool when designing norms for problem-solving MAS.

University of Gävle, Faculty of Engineering and Sustainable Development, Department of Industrial Development, IT and Land Management, Decision, Risk and Policy Analysis. Department of Computer and Systems Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden .

An approach to the pre-runtime design of normative systems for a class of problem-solving norm-regulated multi-agent systems is suggested. The basic idea is to employ evolutionary mechanisms to evolve efficient normative systems for so-called norm-regulated Dalmases, as part of the design process. The Dalmas architecture uses an algebraic approach to normative systems, in which normative consequences are based on an extended set of one-agent types of normative positions, which is given a semantics in terms of prohibition of certain types of state transitions. To illustrate the approach, a genetic algorithm is used to evolve norms for an example system. Furthermore, some approaches to reducing the algorithm's search space, including to employ a notion of operational equivalence of norms, are discussed. It is demonstrated that an evolutionary algorithm may be a useful tool when designing norms for problem-solving multi-agent systems.

In this paper we argue that unsustainable behaviors often stem from a common averaging bias when people estimate the environmental impact of a set of environmentally friendly and less friendly objects or actions. In Experiment 1, we show that people believe that the total carbon footprint of a category of items (a community of buildings in this case) is lower, rather than higher, when environmentally friendly (“green” buildings) items are added to the category, a negative footprint illusion. Experiment 2 showed that the carbon footprint estimate assigned to a category with a mix of environmentally friendly and less friendly objects (“green” and conventional buildings) is the average of its subsets (the “green” buildings and the conventional buildings, respectively), an averaging bias. A similar averaging process may underpin estimates of the environmental impact of people's own actions, explaining why people believe that environmentally friendly actions can compensate for less friendly actions.

14. GISwaps: A New Method for Decision Making in Continuous Choice Models Based on Even Swaps

Milutinovic, Goran

et al.

University of Gävle, Faculty of Engineering and Sustainable Development, Department of Industrial Development, IT and Land Management, Computer science.

Ahonen-Jonnarth, Ulla

University of Gävle, Faculty of Engineering and Sustainable Development, Department of Industrial Development, IT and Land Management, Decision, Risk and Policy Analysis.

Seipel, Stefan

University of Gävle, Faculty of Engineering and Sustainable Development, Department of Industrial Development, IT and Land Management, Computer science. Department of Information Technology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.

This article describes how continuous GIS-MCDM problems are commonly managed by combining some weighting method based on pairwise comparisons of criteria with an aggregation method. The reliability of this approach may be questioned, though. First, assigning weights to criteria, without taking into consideration the actual consequences or values of the alternatives, is in itself controversial. Second, the value functions obtained by this approach are in most cases linear, which is seldom the case in reality. The authors present a new method for GIS-MCDM in continuous choice models based on Even Swaps. The method is intuitive and easy to use, based on value trade-offs, and thus not relying on criteria weighting. Value functions obtained when using the method may be linear or non-linear, and thereby are more sensitive to the characteristics of the decision space. The performed case study showed promising results regarding the reliability of the method in GIS-MCDM context.